December 30, 2001

Arrests

   * Jarrod E. Banner, 23, of Newland, N.C., was arrested Wednesday night by Carter County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Tim Lowe after the officer responded to 1025 Buck Mountain Road regarding an armed subject. Sgt. Lowe spoke with Rudy and Tommy Oaks who told them that Banner was in the area with a gun causing problems. After a short search, Banner came out of a wooded area below the Oaks' residence and an argument ensued between the Oakses and Banner with several threats being made, according to the report. As Sgt. Lowe attempted to escort Banner to his patrol unit, Rudy Oaks struck Banner in the head with a flashlight, the report states. Banner refused to enter the officer's car for his own safety, and was placed under arrest for public intoxication to defuse the situation. Banner had an odor of alcohol on his breath and person and in the officer's opinion, was unable to make reasonable decisions for his safety. While transporting Banner to the sheriff's department, he told Sgt. Lowe that the officer would never find his gun and liquor in the woods. Sgt. Lowe advised Banner that warrants could be taken against Rudy Oaks for hitting him with the flashlight. "What flashlight? A tree branch hit me," Banner said.
   * Kenneth Dwayne Ritchie, 26, 111 J.C. Vines Rd., Hampton, was arrested Tuesday by CCSD Lt. Bob Hooks on warrants charging him with failure to appear for a court hearing to answer charges of assault and theft.
   * Darryl Christopher Wallcott, 36, 347 Burbank Rd., Roan Mountain, was arrested Saturday by CCSD Deputy Bradley Johnson after the officer was dispatched to the address regarding an unwanted guest. Greg Williams told the officer he wanted Wallcott removed because he had been drinking. The officer advised Williams that because Wallcott lived there, the officer had no right to remove him and no law had been violated. Wallcott was advised that because Williams wanted him out, he should make provisions to leave. Wallcott opted to stay. The officer cleared the scene and about 10 minutes later was dispatched back to the residence where he found Wallcott standing beside the roadway in an apparent state of intoxication. He was taken into custody and charged with public intoxication.
   * Charlie Hughes, 50, 113 Hart Rd., was arrested Sunday by Constable Bobby Canter on a charge of harassment.
   * Dewey Gady Renfro, 49, 133 Lacy Hollow Rd., was arrested Sunday by Constable Bobby Canter on a charge of aggravated assault.
   * Roger Scott Renfro, 30, 133 Lacy Hollow Rd., was arrested Sunday by Constable Bobby Canter and charged with assault under domestic violence and aggravated assault.
   * Michelle Lee Bowers, 25, 325 Main St., Bluff City, was arrested Sunday by Constable David Jones on a warrant charging her with assault under domestic violence.
   * Anthony Charles Godsey, 36, 157 Wade Bulla Rd., Watauga, was arrested Saturday by Carter County Sheriff's Department Deputy Jeffrey Markland after he responded to a motor vehicle accident on Old Watauga Road. Godsey was found sitting inside a vehicle which had run off the roadway. He was asked to submit to a series of field sobriety tasks, which he refused. He was charged with DUI.
   * Roger Bolin, 43, 253 Reynolds Rd., was arrested Sunday by CCSD Deputy Jeffrey Markland after the officer was dispatched to the residence regarding a possible domestic dispute. Patricia Patterson told the officer that she and her boyfriend had been in an argument and that he had broken the door to their bedroom to gain entry to where she was. Patterson had a laceration on her finger. Bolin was charged with assault under domestic violence.
   * Larry R. Keeling Jr., 35, 117 Taylor Dr., Piney Flats, was arrested Wednesday by CCSD Lt. Rocky Croy on a warrant charging him with assault under domestic violence and vandalism under domestic violence.
   * Timothy Egly, 23, 4923 Rockville Rd., #140, Indianapolis, Ind., was arrested Wednesday by officers of Johnson City Police Bureau following investigation of a shoplifting incident. Egly was charged with being a fugitive from justice and shoplifting.
   * George E. Pealer, 713 E. Millard St., Johnson City, was arrested Wednesday by officers of Johnson City Police Bureau after officers attempted a traffic stop. Pealer refused to stop and continued on to Baxter Street where he spun his vehicle and struck a utility pole. Pealer then attempted to flee on foot but was captured. He was charged with third-offense DUI, third-offense driving on revoked license, violation of implied consent and felony evading arrest.

Fire

   * CCSD Lt. Rocky Croy responded Wednesday to Endsor Nidiffer Road regarding an auto fire. Roy Nidiffer, 105 Charlem Rd., Jonesborough, told the officer that he last saw his 1984 Toyota truck Dec. 15 when he left to go to his mother's for the Christmas holiday. Wednesday, he said, he received a call from his father telling him that his truck had been burned. Nidiffer said the truck was being used on property where he was building a house and some of the wood had been used in the fire. Nidiffer had been staying near the house in a tent while construction was ongoing. Frost had formed on the vehicle and ground, indicating the fire was several days old. Arson is suspected.
   * CCSD Deputy Gregg Nave responded Saturday to 1266 and 1270 Blue Springs Road regarding a structure fire. When the officer arrived, flames were shooting out the front of the house. The owner, Ivan Morley, who lives behind the residence, told the officer that the structure was rented to Debbie Mottern. Mottern, 38, advised the officer that she laid down on the bed and fell asleep. When she first smelled smoke, she thought she was having a bad dream. After being fully awakened by the smoke, she was barely able to make it to the front door, she told the officer. Mottern was treated at the scene by members of Carter County Rescue Squad. Cause of the fire was unknown at the time of the report. Mottern advised she was heating with a wood stove.

Burglary/theft

   * CCSD Sgt. Keith Range was dispatched Sunday to Bradley Auto Sales, 3969 Hwy. 19E, regarding several suspicious males looking into vehicles at the car lot. The caller advised there was a small white car parked just up the road from the business. When the officer arrived minutes later, he found the front door to the business partially open and the latch pried. The officer entered the business and found that it had been rifled through. Several sets of keys were found lying on the floor. The officer searched the grounds and found the doors to several vehicles open. Several sets of keys were found lying on the ground. The officer called in a BOLO (be on the lookout) for the suspect vehicle, which was stopped a short time later by CCSD Deputy Brad Hamm on Second Avenue in Hampton. When Deputy Hamm approached the vehicle, he found several sets of keys in plain view, lying in the floor behind the driver's seat. They were identified as belonging to Bradley Auto Sales. Two juvenile suspects were taken into custody and Investigator George Skeans was called in to assist. Two other suspects were still at large at the time of the report.
   * On Dec. 28, CCSD Bradly Johnson responded to a vehicle burglary at the Moose Lodge, Lovers Lane. Johnson spoke to Shannon Hilton,the owner of the vehicle, outside of the Moose Lodge around 11 p.m. Hilton had parked the car at 2 p.m. and returned after work to find the drivers side window of her 1988 Toyota pick up truck broken. A detachable face Sanyo CD player and a Adadas winter coat were stolen. The investigation is still pending.

Accident/property damage

   * CCSD Deputy Brad Hamm responded to a report of a single vehicle property damage on Dec. 28. Judy Presnell, 108 Maple Lane, Watauga, was traveling south on Hwy. 143 when a deer ran into the passenger side door of her 1998 Dodge Neon. Presnell continued driving her vehicle home before she called to report the incident. A dent in the passenger side door was the only property damage reported. The deer was not located.

Threats

   * William Dayton Townsend, 47, 618 Willow Spring Rd., Elizabethton, contacted the CCSD to report a threat on his life. Townsend told officers that his wife, Glenida V. Townsend had been in a physical altercation with her daughter's boyfriend on a previous date.
   William Townsend reported his mother-in-law, Irene Colazo, Sink Valley Rd., Butler, confronted him at his residence on Dec. 28 and forced him to vacate the premises. Townsend stated that Colazo threatened to shoot him in the head before he left his residence. When he returned to his residence all of the firearms were missing except for one hand gun that had been unloaded. Townsend feared that his wife and mother-on-law would return to his residence and harm him. The CCSD advised Townsend of the proper action to take and of the necessary paper work that must be filed.